Cornish Campus

Safety & Security

Cornish College of the Arts believes in providing a safe and welcoming environment to enhance the well-being of students, faculty, staff and visitors, along with the protection of all college assets. Our Office of Campus Safety & Security is committed to working with all members of the campus community to achieve this goal. We are located in a downtown urban environment; therefore every member of our campus community is expected to take reasonable precautions to protect themselves and their property.

Clery Act and Crime Statistics Reporting

In compliance with Cornish College of the Arts’s Title IV Program Participation Agreement and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 USC § 1092(f)), Cornish has developed a Campus Security Policy.This policy is in effect at all times and is managed by the Director of Campus Safety and Security.

Cornish makes a good faith effort to collect crime statistics for all Clery Act crimes committed in applicable geographic locations from all police agencies with jurisdiction for Cornish. Each year an email notification is made to all enrolled students that provides the website to access this report. Faculty and staff receive similar notification via email.

The Director of Safety and Security also works in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, Housing & Residence Life, and the Dean of Student Affairs. Each entity provides updated information on their educational efforts and programs to comply with the Act.

Campus crime and referral statistics include those reported to Safety and Security, designated campus officials (including but not limited to Directors, Chairs, Deans, Housing & Residence Life staff, et al) and local law enforcement agencies. These statistics may also include crimes that have occurred in private residences or businesses. Counseling Services shall inform their clients of the procedures to report crime to Safety and Security on a voluntary or confidential basis, should they feel it is in the best interest of the client. A procedure is in place to anonymously capture crime statistics disclosed confidentially during such a session.

Copies of the current campus safety policies and the Clery Report may be obtained online or by sending a request to the Office of Safety & Security.

The components of this policy will accurately reflect how the policies are implemented. A requirement of Clery Act compliance is disclosing Cornish's policy statements in Cornish's annual security report. This policy is in effect at all times and is managed by the Director of Campus Safety and Security. This policy is to be reviewed and updated annually by October 1. View the Clery Act Annual Report.

Missing Student Policy and Procedures

In compliance with the Missing Student Policy and Procedures (Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008), it is Cornish’s policy to actively investigate any report of a missing student who is enrolled at Cornish as either a full or part-time student.

Most missing person reports in Cornish environment result from students changing their routines without informing roommates and friends of the change. For purposes of this policy, a student will be considered
missing if a roommate, classmate, faculty member, friend, family member. or other campus person has not seen or heard from the person in a reasonable amount of time.

In general, a reasonable amount of time is 24 hours or more, but may vary with the time of day and information available regarding the missing person’s daily schedule, habits and reliability. Individuals will also be considered missing immediately if their absence has occurred under circumstances that are suspicious or cause concern for their safety.

If a member of Cornish community has reason to believe that a student is missing, that person is responsible for notifying one or all of the following individuals:

Director of Safety and Security: 206.315.5824

Dean of Student Affairs: 206.726.5111

Any missing student report must be referred to Safety and Security. All efforts will be made immediately (no waiting period) to locate the student to determine his or her state of health and well-being.

In order to accurately assess if a student is indeed missing, all students at Cornish are strongly encouraged to register contact information in two ways. The first designee is denoted as the “emergency contact.” The second is denoted as the “missing person contact.” The privacy of this information is protected under Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

In the instance of both the emergency and missing person contact, each student is solely responsible for the accuracy of the contact phone number and for update of information should the contact person(s) and/or number(s) change. The emergency contact and missing person contact for all students are maintained by the Registrar.

For further information, please contact the Office of Safety and Security.

Registered Sex Offender Notification

Pursuant to federal and Washington State law, any such adult or juvenile offender who is admitted to a public or private institution of higher education shall, within ten days of enrolling or by the first business day after arriving at the institution, whichever is earlier, notify the sheriff for the county of the person’s residence of the person’s intent to attend the institution. Students and employees can find out information about registered sex offenders in their area at Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

SEXUAL OFFENSE POLICY & PROCEDURES

Conduct constituting a sexual offense, such as rape, acquaintance rape or sexual assault, will not be tolerated at Cornish College of the Arts. Behavior of this nature is inconsistent with the institution's values, and is a violation of the Code of Student Conduct, Cornish policy and state and federal law. Students or employees committing a sexual offense in any form can be prosecuted under the Washington State Criminal Code (Title 9A RCW) and/or disciplined under the Code of Student Conduct.

Every possible effort shall be made to ensure the confidentiality of information received as part of Cornish’s reporting procedure. Whenever possible, the name of the victim will be withheld if the victim so desires. Action requiring disclosure of the victim’s identity or identifying the victim in some manner will generally not take place without the victim’s consent, unless it is necessary to protect the health or safety of students or other persons. If so, the victim will be informed.

If the survivor of a sexual assault so desires, Cornish will make alternative campus housing and academic arrangements as may be appropriate and reasonably available. Students may request that reports made to members of the counseling staff be kept confidential.

WEAPONS ON CAMPUS

Cornish will not permit the use or possession of the following items on campus whether concealed or not: firearms, explosives, martial arts weapons, air-powered guns or rifles, or any other dangerous weapons, or replicas of any of the above. Possession of any of these items will be considered a violation of the Conduct Code and dealt with accordingly.

This prohibition, however, does not apply to weapons or replicas of weapons used as part of the academic and artistic activity supervised or assigned by members of the Cornish faculty. Such weapons or replicas of weapons used in academic activities must be approved by the Department Chair and the Provost in advance of their appearance on campus and must be stored in secure, designated spaces. Copies of the official approval of these items should be provided to the Director of Safety and Security. Proper training on the use of such items must be provided and documented by the Department.

DRUGS & ALCOHOL

Cornish is subject to the requirements of the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1989. Cornish strongly supports each act.

Cornish expresses its continued commitment:

to ensure a campus environment in which students, faculty and staff can work, study, and relax in safety;

to address the abuse of alcohol and other drugs and the academic, social, health, and legal consequences thereof;

to reach out to campus, community, and state-level groups to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for prevention;

to ensure that the prevention of the abuse of alcohol and other drugs remains a priority of our campus life and health promotion

The State of Washington sets the age of 21 as the minimum age to purchase or possess any alcoholic beverage. Washington Initiative 502 sets the age of 21 as the minimum age to purchase or possess marijuana for recreational use. Specific ordinances regarding violations of drug and alcohol laws, including driving while intoxicated, are available from the Office of Safety and Security.